aethelflaedladyofmercia:

Le Chastel d'Amors–Good Omens Fic

Posted last night as part of @whiteleyfoster’s Write This In Your Style challenge! There’s quite a number of fics there, so browse them all!

Across the centuries, Crowley comes to his favorite chateau, to watch his favorite angel at work and listen to his favorite poetry…

A centuries-long tale of devotion, pining, and love that is at once illicit and elevating, passionate and disciplined, human and transcendent… courtly love.

Read it on AO3

–

“I thought I’d find you here.”

Crowley’s eyes stayed locked on the trobairitz and the crowd of men hanging on her every word. “What can I say? With entertainment like this, I barely need to lift a finger.”

A mildly annoyed tsk. “I hardly think a little flirtation even counts as wickedness.”

“Does if they’re already married.” She thought over the angel’s statement again, then snapped her head around, eyes wide, to study him. “Hang on, are you saying—”

“I’msaying that I expected you to be here because you always lurk in this corner when we come to Soifort.” The hall had changed very little in two hundred years. The tapestries were more numerous and complex, the stained-glass windows brighter, and the guests more vivacious. Aziraphale had changed even less, though his tunic hung longer and now incorporated a great deal more silk, particularly in the long flowing sleeves, and his cloak was now pinned on the right. But the most startling change was the look in his eyes. They shone merrily in the dim hall, and cast a light, a heat Crowley had only glimpsed a few times before. “Don’t expect me to do your work for you again.”

“Already done. Just taking a well-deserved break.” Crowley pushed away from the wall, circling Aziraphale, the dark train of her bliaut trailing behind her. “Or didn’t you notice this entire region has fallen to heresy?”

“Oh? And I’m to believe this was yourdoing?” He laughed, a delightful sound echoing through the room. “My dear lady, I doubt you could even tell me what Catharism is.”

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This week, I’m going to be recreating a simple carrot and coriander soup that was popular in medieval French cuisine - the simple Potage de Crécy. Although I’m using orange carrots, which were rare in antiquity, carrots, parsnips, or any combination of these would work well here!

In any case, let’s now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Check out my Patreon for some more recipes!

Ingredients (for 2-3 portions)

1 onion (or an equal volume to the amount of carrots) chopped
3 carrots (or an equal volume to the amount of onions) diced
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
ground coriander
500ml stock (e.g. chicken, vegetable, etc.)

Method
1 - Prepare and Cook Onion
To begin with, we need to peel and chop one whole onion. Onions of all kinds were a staple of most cuisines from the neolothic period to modernity, as they’re hardy, filling vegetables that have a multitude of uses. In any case, chop this into fine chunks, so they cook evenly. When this is done, toss some olive oil into a pot, and heat it up over a medium high heat.

When the oil is shimmering, toss a couple of crushed cloves of garlic into the oil, along with your onions. On top of this, sprinkle some salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and some freshly ground coriander. Put all of this back onto a medium high heat for a few minutes while you deal with your carrots.

2 - Prepare and Cook Carrots
Go peel a few carrots - aim for about an equal amount of carrots to onions. When they’re peeled, slice them into discs - making sure they’re all the same size, so they cook evenly. Although orange carrots were fairly rare in antiquity, they’re the dominant strain today. But remember that throwing in some parsnips or heriloom carrots wouldn’t hurt either!

When your carrots are prepared, add them to your onions when the pot smells lovely and fragrant, and the onions have turned translucent. On top of your carrots and onions, pour about 500ml of a soup stock of your choice. I went with chicken stock here, to add a more meaty background taste, but any stock would work well enough here!

3 - Cook
Place your pot over a high heat, and let it come to a boil. When it hits a rolling boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer away for about 30 minutes, or until a knife, when stabbed into a piece of carrot, comes out easily.

Serve up in a bowl of your choice, garnish with a little sprig of parsley or cilantro, and dig in!

The finished soup is rather sweet, thanks to the carrots and onions, and has a lovely zesty taste thanks to the coriander. The broth thickened up nicely, and the carrot chunks softened into a toothsome mouthful.

Today, we’ll be looking at a recipe from Le Ménagier de Paris - The Goodman of Paris - and recreating some grilled steaks from the 14th century. This book isn’t explicitly a cookbook, but moreso a glimpse at everyday life in Paris in the 1300s - including descriptions of social norms - a relative rarity for medieval literature!

In any case, let’s now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! If you like my recipes, consider supporting me on Patreon!

Ingredients (for two steaks)
2x cuts of beef (I used striploin, but other cuts work just as well. Adjust cooking time as necessary)
3tbsp red wine vinegar
2tbsp Seville orange juice (or 2tbsp orange juice + 1 tsp lime juice)
pepper
salt
cinnamon
oil or fat (for cooking)

Method
1 - Prepare the Meat
To begin with, we need to deal with our meat. Start by seasoning each side with some salt and freshly-ground black pepper. The original recipe claims that venison could also be used here - but since that’s a bit outside of most people’s price ranges, beef is a common substitute!

In any case, when your meat has been seasoned liberally, set this aside while you make your basting sauce.

2 - Make the Sauce
Next, cut an orange in half, and juice it using a juicer. Or just crush them in a bowl by hand - whichever method suits you. Seville oranges are also known as sour oranges, but if you can’t get your hands on any then regular oranges would work just as well! Just add another teaspoon or two of lime juice to your regular orange juice.

Next, toss in a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar (or malt vinegar, if it’s more your style) and mix everything to combine.

3 - Cook and Baste the Meat
Moving to the stove, place a liberally oiled frying pan over a medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, place a cut of meat onto the pan, and let it cook untouched for about 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your meat. When one side is cooked, flip it over and let the other side cook away. Over the cooked side, pour a little of your sauce over it. Be very careful at this stage, as the oil could spit violently if it comes in contact with the water!

Cook each steak to the doneness you desire, before taking them off the heat, and letting them rest for a few minutes. This is to improve the texture of the meat, and let the juices inside rearrange.

When they’re done, serve them up with a bit of cinnamon, and dig in!

The finished dish is super succulent, and has a wonderful sauce - it has a slight sharpness that really suits the beef here. Though this is a very simple way of cooking - using few seasonings and aromatics - it can be combined with a multitude of other side-dishes (such as onion soup or a pottage of some kind).